Chillicothe, Missouri

Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Livingston County, Missouri, United States. The population was 9,107 at the 2020 census. The name "Chillicothe" is Shawnee for "big town". Chillicothe is known as "The Home of Sliced Bread". For many years its schools were segregated and African American students attended what eventually became known as Garrison School, named after William Lloyd Garrison.

History of Chillicothe and Livingston County

thumb|left|Locust Street in c. 1908

This territory was originally settled by indigenous peoples of the Americas. The Osage and Missouri were in the territory at the time of earliest European contact, which was mostly by French explorers and traders. By 1800 the Shawnee and Iowa had migrated here. The Shawnee came from the Ohio Country, where they had been under pressure before the American Revolution from aggressive Iroquois and later encroaching European Americans. Displacing the Osage, the Shawnee had a major village known as Chillicothe about a mile from the present-day city, named after their historic capital in their traditional lands in Ohio. Chillicothe was also the name of a major band of the tribe. Other Native American tribes in the area were the Sauk and Meskwaki, and Potawatomi, all of whom hunted in the area.

In the early 19th century, European-American migration to Missouri increased. The original survey of Chillicothe by United States citizens was filed for record August 31, 1837, and a resurvey of the same was filed August 5, 1859. Chillicothe was incorporated as a city by an act of the General Assembly, approved March 1, 1855. It was selected as the County seat by commissioners and the first term of the county court began on May 7, 1838. In August of that year an order was made to erect the first Court House, the cost not to exceed $5,000, in the Public Square; The first circuit court for the trial of civil and criminal causes was held on the 3d of July 1887.

Livingston was settled by emigrants from the older counties and others from the Upper South states of Kentucky and Tennessee, as well as Ohio and other "Old Northwest" states, as the westward migration continued. Prior to completion of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad in 1859, the city was minimally developed with cheap frame houses, with little pretense of architectural beauty or design. The building materials being hewed and sawed from the oak and walnut timber surrounding the town, as timber originally covered the site. The restaurant has since closed.

Missouri Training School for Girls

The Missouri Training School for Girls (1889–1981) was the correctional facility of the Missouri Division of Youth Services. It opened in 1889. In 1956, the school received all of the black girls after the Missouri Training School for Negro Girls in Tipton closed. The school closed in 1981.

Geography

Chillicothe is located in central Livingston County. The Grand River flows past approximately one mile south of the city and the confluence of the Thompson River with the Grand is about three miles to the southwest. The city is served by U.S. Route 36, U.S. Route 65 and Missouri Route 190.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Chillicothe had a population of 9,107 and 2,044 families. The median age was 39.7 years. 20.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 69.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 62.0 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 3,377 households in Chillicothe, of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.6% were married-couple households, 19.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 33.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. estimates show that the median household income was $45,496 (with a margin of error of +/- $3,506) and the median family income was $56,488 (+/- $8,384). Males had a median income of $34,937 (+/- $3,959) versus $25,867 (+/- $3,033) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $30,715 (+/- $1,036). Approximately, 14.1% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under the age of 18 and 16.3% of those ages 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,515 people, 3,612 households, and 2,146 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 4,108 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.5% White, 3.7% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population.

There were 3,612 households, of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.6% were non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.90.

The median age in the city was 39.6 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.3% were from 25 to 44; 24.3% were from 45 to 64; and 18.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 41.3% male and 58.7% female.

2000 census

As of the census

;PK-12th grade:

Chillicothe Early Learning Center (PK)
Chillicothe Elementary School (K-05)
Chillicothe Middle School (06–08)
Chillicothe High School (09–12)

;Other programs and campuses:

Hornet Academy
Grand River Technical School
Litton Agri-Science Learning Center

;Private schools

Bishop Hogan Memorial School (PK-8), operated by St. Columban Catholic Church, Chillicothe

;Public library

The town has a lending library, the Livingston County Library.

The town has a children library, the Lillian DesMarias Youth Library.

Media

Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, established in 1889
KCHI Radio- KCHI-AM transmission on 1010 kHz and KCHI-FM on 102.5 MHz.
KRNW Radio (88.9-an FM repeater station which co-broadcasts Northwest MO State University's flagship station KXCV's programming-NPR affiliated)
KULH Radio (105.9 The Wave) Christian Radio station

In popular culture

Chillicothe is known as "The Home of Sliced Bread". On July 7, 1928, the Chillicothe Baking Company began selling pre-sliced bread "at quality grocers in the area", marking the first time sliced bread was available commercially in the world. They used the Rohwedder Bread Slicer, a machine created by Iowa inventor, Otto Frederick Rohwedder.

Notable people

Shawn Ryan, Navy SEAL and podcaster
Moses Alexander, 11th governor of Idaho
Bower Slack Broaddus, judge
Courtney W. Campbell, congressman
Ray and Faye Copeland, serial killers
William Lincoln Garver, architect, author, and socialist politician
Claude B. Hutchison, botanist and politician
Mike Lair, politician and teacher
Jerry Litton, congressman
Charles H. Mansur, congressman
Shirley Collie Nelson, country music artist/actress
Henry Moses Pollard, congressman
John Quinn, politician
William Y. Slack, Civil War general and politician
Stephen J. Stein, American historian of religion
Clarence Edwin Watkins, publisher
Caleb Hearon, comedian, writer, and actor

References

External links

"Livingston County History", Livingston County Library
Grand River Historical Society Museum, Official Website
Chillicothe, Missouri profile
Historic maps of Chillicothe in the Sanborn Maps of Missouri Collection at the University of Missouri